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Your child may have missed one or more of her regularly required childhood vaccines these past few years, as many vaccines had been unavailable or in very short supply. Among the vaccines that had been hard to get include, MMR, DTaP, Hib, Varivax (chickenpox), Hepatitis B, Prevnar, and Td (tetanus). Contributing to the shortages are the fact that some companies are no longer making vaccines and there "are production issues, decreased yields of the biologic materials used in certain vaccines, the elimination of some vaccines containing thimerosal as a preservative and insufficient vaccine stockpiles," according to the CDC.
If your child did miss some vaccines, now may be a good time to get caught back up. This is especially important for adolescents who missed their teen tetanus (Td) booster during the past two years. According to the CDC, 'Adolescents and adults for whom routine Td booster doses were deferred should be recalled by their health-care providers to receive the delayed dose. School attendance provisions requiring students to have received a Td booster at age >11 years can be reinstituted.'
Other vaccines, such as MMR, Hib and DTap, are also back in good supply and your Pediatrician may recall all of the children who missed any dosages the last few years and get them caught up.
Although Prenar had been back again in good supply, there may be shortages again this year. To help avoid a shortage, the AAP, CDC, and AAFP, is recommending that children not receive the fourth dose of Prevnar until it is back in good supply.
According to the CDC, 'the recommendation calls for the temporary suspension of the fourth dose of PCV7, a booster dose given at 12 to 15 months of age. Healthcare providers should move to a three-dose series of one dose at two months, one dose at four months, and one dose at six months. Providers should continue to administer the fourth dose to children at increased risk of severe disease. Children whose booster dose is deferred should receive PCV7 on their first visit after supplies return to normal. This recommendation is not expected to have any adverse health consequences for children.'
If your children missed a vaccine because of a shortage, you might want to call your Pediatrician to see if they can now get them. This is especially important as kids begin going back to school.
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